Wally and I didn’t realize how our boating life in tropical places had spoiled us for needing warm weather until we arrived in Benson, AZ just before Thanksgiving. In our previous blog posts we had described our trip south as “trying to avoid the Arctic Blasts reaching deep into the U.S.” … “daytime temps hovering in the 40’s”…” the night air will chill you to the bone”. Somehow we seemed to think that arriving back at our home RV Park in Benson, AZ would change all of that. Well, it didn’t! Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations were full of the warm wishes of the season, but the chilling temperatures left us cold.
By the last days of December, we were on the move again. Yuma, the most southerly city in AZ, beckoned to us. Along our 300-mile trek SW, we stopped for a week in the Ajo/Why area. That gave us an perfect opportunity to explore the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the Mexican Border.
By Jan.4th we were settled in an RV park in downtown Yuma. The next two weeks were busy ones… but few of them were above 45 degrees in the morning and 65 degrees in the afternoon. The 75-80 degree weather we so enjoy was still eluding us. Our friends in South Florida and in The Valley of Texas are basking in the tropical warmth, but not us.
Now on to the reasons we have been so busy. Since our arrival at the Thousand Trails Suni Sands Encore RV Resort in Yuma, I have been starting my weekdays joining the local ladies at 9 am for 45 minutes of water aerobics. Often there has been “sea-smoke” rising off the surface of the 88 degree outdoor pool. Eight to ten of us warm up our muscles and joints together and enjoy lots of laughter along the way. Wally soaks nearby in the large 103 degree spa/hot tub, then he gets 4,000 steps by circling and criss-crossing the RV park streets. We both return to our RV by 10am to do 15 minutes of Qi Chong. We started this work-out after coffee time with a group in Benson. A Lee Holden DVD leads us through a series of flowing stretching and intentional deep breathing routines to promote a full range of motion and flexibility. After each session, we notice how we feel energized and ready to face the day.
Four couples from the park drove together to Martha’s Gardens Date Farm and were part of a 28-person 1 1/2 hour tour. Driving a farm tractor, the oldest son of the date plantation family pulled our wagon through the rows of 8,000 date palms. At stops along the way, the 24-year old explained the intricacies of the Medjool date production. He was willing and able to answer every question that our group asked. Topping the tour off with a luscious date shake made for a perfect experience.
One couple we’ve recently met took us with them across the border to Algodones, MX. The venders along the streets there offer choices of pottery, jewelry, leather goods, clothing and textile items, produce, pharmacy options, dental procedures, eye-glass fittings and deliciious meals. Chris and Pat also discovered the Yuma Thai Restaurant and we four patronized it three times.
Over our two-week stay we have been invited to three gatherings of friends from our Benson RV park. Some, like us are seeking warmer climate. Others have made their move to Yuma a permanent one. What a lot of stories we had to share, remembering events in our 10 to 12-year friendships!
Our two weeks in Yuma was topped off with a weekend of Spyder Rydes. Fifteen “ryders” on eleven Can-Am Spyders got acquainted over lunch at Martinez Lake Resort and Cantina. Earlier in the day we had traveled for 75 miles… past the Imperial Date Palm Groves… through the scenic patchwork of lettuce and broccoli fields… to reach The United States Army Yuma Proving Grounds. The 90-minute museum tour given by the curator himself was enlightening beyond our expectations! After lunch, we continued another 75 miles into the agricultural Dome Valley. There we saw many crews harvesting the mature crops, while others planted the tiny seedlings for the next crop rotation. We shared the roadway with farm trucks headed to the shipping warehouses carrying cartons of fresh-packed produce. From there a convoy of refrigerated semi-trailer trucks load-up those cartons and whisk them away to markets around the country. It’s quite a process!
The poet Robert Frost is remembered for being a fan of fences…”Good fences make good neighbors”. Within that poem he describes the two neighbors mending the fence from both sides. While they worked together on getting the fence back in order, they chatted about life… face-to-face. We ended the Spyder Ryde by visiting “The Wall” at San Luis, AZ near Yuma. Everything that Robert Frost claimed fences are good for was missing. It was a sad and ugly sight. The coils of razor wire atop the metal expanse made for an angry response to a future of unrest and unhappiness. The construction does allow for one side to view the other, but to what result? Wally and I are not fans of a fence that has no hope of ever being mended.
Other “rydes” took us to the Yuma Territorial Prison, The Center of the World in Felicity, CA and the Imperial Sand Dunes Overlook in Glamis, CA, nestled between the Chocolate Mountains and the Salton Sea. Thank-you Pete and Jane of Southwest Spyder Ryders for inviting us to join your week-end rydes.
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